


Sunday

by luckyferrero



Series: The In-Betweens [1]
Category: Choices: Stories You Play, The Nanny Affair (Visual Novel)
Genre: Boss/Employee Relationship, Coffee, Engagement, F/M, Female Character of Color, M!Sam Dalton, Male Sam Dalton, Morning, Night, Originally Posted on Tumblr, Tumblr Prompts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-22
Updated: 2020-07-22
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:20:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,504
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25446007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/luckyferrero/pseuds/luckyferrero
Summary: It's a Sunday, and Sam and Marina talk about what happened the night before.
Relationships: Sam Dalton/Main Character (The Nanny Affair), Sam Dalton/Marina Carvajal
Series: The In-Betweens [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1843039
Comments: 2
Kudos: 3





	Sunday

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is my first time posting here in AO3 (and in the TNA fandom), so I'm super excited to post this! Anyway, I read a post (either in Tumblr or Reddit) about how we don’t really get to explore MC and Sam’s relationship (seeing how time jumps frequently in the game) so I thought of writing some in that context! 
> 
> That being said, this is part of a series called The In-Betweens! It explores how Sam and MC's relationship [possibly] developed *in between* some scenes of the book. This takes place the morning after Chapter 2's last diamond scene!
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own the characters in TNA (except for OCs in my fics) and all creative rights to these characters belong to Pixelberry.

* * *

The sun had begun to rise from the horizon, and the New York sky lit up with a hazy shade of blue. Marina watched as the world moved slowly, eyes tired and strained as she stayed lying on her bed. The room was quiet, save for the slight hum of its air-conditioning. It would’ve been enough to lull her to sleep, but with her thoughts still loud in her mind, she wasn’t surprised to find herself still awake since the day before.

She turned to the other side of the bed, feeling heavy and relentless. Every second passing was a reminder that the events that transpired from the previous night were real, and Marina groaned at the fact. When she looked back at the sky to find it a little bit brighter, she surrendered all hope that sleep would ever come to her. She sat up and stretched her arms over her head, and with a huff, prepared for the day ahead.

Leaving her room, a brief feeling of relief washed over her. It was too early for anyone to be awake, so she had a couple more minutes to herself. She looked around the apartment, marveling at how big the place was with its high ceiling and window walls. Every bit looked expensive— _maybe even valued more than her net worth_ , she thought—and she caught herself walking a little more carefully.

When her eyes landed on the kitchen, she found herself blushing, her entire face suddenly warm. Memories flashed in her mind, one right after the other without any delay, blinding her for only a moment. That warmth then crept to the rest of her body, and Marina’s lips parted in a quiet gasp as she quickly realized that it was the same warmth she felt last night. “ _Nope_ ,” she told herself, pushing the memories aside, “ _we’re not doing that, Mari_.” 

With a sigh, she proceeded to pour water into the electric kettle and waited as it began to boil. She walked to one of the stools, hopping onto it and resting her head on the counter. Still feeling heavy and tired from the lack of sleep, she closed her eyes, silently praying that the day would fly by quickly so that she could go back to bed.

“Marina?”

The sound of her name being called out startled her, enough to make her look up at the source.

“Oh!” Right away, she sat up, seeing stars swirling in the peripherals of her vision. Every memory she had pushed away early came running back in her mind, and she could feel the all-too-familiar warmth on her cheeks. “Good morning, Sam.”

Her attention fell on the small smile on his lips, which moved as he asked, “are you alright?”

She nodded a little too quickly. “Yeah, I just…” She brought her palm against her mouth as she yawned. “I couldn’t sleep a wink last night.”

Sam raised an eyebrow, and the corners of his mouth pointed downward. “How come?” he inquired as he settled on the stool next to hers. She became acutely aware of how close they had suddenly become, and how she _definitely_ looked embarrassingly flustered at the moment. She chuckled nervously but waved her hand dismissively.

“It’s nothing.” He gave her a look of concern, and she smiled reassuringly. “Probably just because it was my first night here.” He kept his eyes on her, almost as if he was trying to look through her. Before he could say anything, she beamed at him.

“What about you? Did you sleep well?”

He raised an eyebrow once again, seemingly in amusement this time. He followed it with a chuckle and answered, “I had some difficulty sleeping too, actually.”

“Why?” she asked curiously, eyes bright with the same concern he showed her just moments before. Catching sight of her looking at him this way took him by surprise, and he leaned back to ponder.

“I had… _a lot_ to think about.”

His words sent a shiver down her spine. She imagined what had kept him up the night before, amplifying the effects he was having on her.

She could tell that it was making her blush more than ever, and she was silently, but desperately, praying that nothing more would show on her face. 

It didn’t help her when she noticed a particular glint in his eyes, a subtle change in the way he was looking at her, leaving her breathless.

It didn’t take long until the sound of a mechanical _click_ and of boiling water filled the air, and Marina was quick to hop off her seat. Sam followed his gaze on her, watching as she opened one of the cupboards. “I’m making coffee. Do you want one?” She looked back at him in question, to which he replied with a nod. The next moments were spent in silence and in secretive glances that would cease when one was caught by the other until Sam sighed and spoke.

“Listen, Marina, we need to talk about what happened last night.” A sudden weight fell on her shoulders, and she could feel like the ground was going to swallow her whole. But she proceeded to look at him, trying her hardest to conceal her nervousness with a tight smile on her face.

“About what, exactly?” Deep down, she was wincing at how awful she was in pretending that his words weren’t fazing her. _Of course, it would._

“About you taking the kids home through the subway.” Waves of relief washed all over her. Talking about their argument was definitely better than to talk about what happened _after_. “Okay,” she breathed out, before handing him his drink.

“Look,” she started, “I still don’t regret doing what I did.” He averted his gaze onto the cup before him, covertly surprised by her words. He was quick to understand that she was quite stubborn, and while he still felt upset with her, it wasn’t enough for him to interject. He even found himself quite fascinated by her. 

“But...I am sorry. They’re your rules, the boys are your kids, and I respect that.” He looked back at her, eyes bright to see her smiling guiltily. “Rest assured that won’t happen again.” 

Seemingly at a loss for words, he took a while before he replied softly, “thank you.” She was ready to move on from it, when he continued, “I’m sorry, too. I should’ve understood your predicament better. It’s just…” he sighed and leaned closer, “I need you to be really careful next time, Marina.” She noticed something change in his voice and in his eyes. There was a subtle hint of desperation as if he was pleading with her. 

It seemed as though he had caught himself too. His breath hitched for a split second before he cleared his throat. “I’m just not particularly fond of the subway.” 

Sam stared off at the countertop, suddenly looking sad and distant as he absentmindedly took a sip of his drink. She watched him with a small ache in her chest and a thought forming in her mind. Curious and wanting to know why, but she knew better than to ask. Whatever it was, she felt like it was too personal for her to know for the time being. 

She reached out to touch his arm when he chuckled—seemingly in disbelief—and shook his head. “I’ll be fine,” he smirked, but none of them felt reassured by that. He turned back to her and held out his cup, a forced and tight smile plastered on his lips. “Let’s just put this behind us?” Halfheartedly, she clinked her drink with his, wearing her own smile that matched his.

“Morning, Dad!”

“Morning, Marina!”

They turned their attention towards the hallway, where the two boys emerged from their bedroom. Sam was the first to greet back, smiling as if the earlier conversation never happened. With a quick glance at him, Marina followed, inviting them to sit beside their father as she walked back inside the kitchen. “Since it’s my first time to make you guys breakfast, any special requests?” The boys grinned with excitement.

“Waffles!” Mickey suggested with Mason quickly adding, “and chicken nuggets!”

Marina smiled in amusement, all while consciously trying not to mind Sam anymore, who was hiding behind his mug as he took a sip of his drink. “Alright, waffles and chicken nuggets, coming right up!” 

\---

After an entire day of food experiments and a movie marathon, nighttime finally came, and the boys were finally put to bed. Marina had just left their room, extremely exhausted as she settled on the couches, relishing on how soft the cushions and throw pillows were. She knew that her bedroom was only just a couple feet away, but she found herself too comfortable to move. “ _Okay, Mari,_ ” she grumbled to herself, leaning against the backrest with her eyes closed, “ _just drag your butt back to your room, and then you can sleep…_ ”

“You alright over there?” She snapped her eyes open at the sound of Sam’s voice, gasping and twisting her head to find him standing by the hallway. He smiled sheepishly when she sat upright. “I’m sorry for always sneaking up on you. ”

She shook her head, dismissively. “It’s fine,” she stated, absentmindedly running the back of her finger across an eyebrow, “sleep’s just finally getting to me, that’s all.” 

He nodded in understanding. “Tiring day, huh?” He sat on the other side of the couch, and Marina found the distance between them positively infuriating. A rather loud part of her mind wanted to move closer, and she was fighting them off as she nodded in response to his question. “But don’t worry, it’s nothing I can’t handle,” she reassured him, and he watched as she scratched her eyebrow once again.

“Can I ask you something?” She smiled, encouraging him to continue, but it became the very reason all the words left his mind. He couldn’t help but gaze upon her lips, becoming amazed—and almost breathless—by how beautiful she looked with such an expression. 

“I…” He shook his head in disbelief, mentally scolding himself for getting distracted too easily. “Have you read what the tabloids have been saying lately?”

It was a vague question, but Marina immediately knew what he meant. “About you?” she wondered, and he watched her smile fade as she pursed her lips into a flat line. “Yes, I have.” 

The room had become dead silent as they turned away from each other, left to their own thoughts as they knew where the conversation was headed. 

But before she could think of anything else, the words had already slipped through her lips. “Is it true, then? You’re engaged?” 

Against her better judgment, she asked in the hopes that the tabloids were wrong. That, despite the StarGossip article or the fact that it was Sofia who called him the night before, Sam would say he wasn’t engaged.

But he didn’t. Instead, following a deep breath, he replied, “I am.” 

The atmosphere in the room had become undeniably thick and electrified with tension. She wasn’t supposed to be feeling anything for the man, especially since he was her boss, and she was just his kids’ nanny. She knew whatever happened last night was simply a spur of the moment, the kind that stays there and is forgotten the morning after—at least, it _should_ be that way. 

Yet there she was with a fuzzy feeling pooling in the pit of her stomach, one fueled by curiosity and selfishness. The memories she had been trying to push away finally burned in her mind, leaving scorching imprints that crept underneath her skin. 

Clearing her throat, she dusted herself off and stood up. “I’ll be heading back now if that’s okay,” she said, nodding towards her room. She wanted to stop herself from aimlessly thinking further, and staying in the same room with Sam was definitely not going to help her, especially with what happened the night before.

But the universe apparently wanted to pull one last trick on her--she thought--when he followed suit and stood up, offering to walk her back to her room. “I’m headed to my room, anyway,” he explained, and with her teeth clenched as her mind spiraled into a state of panic, she gave him a tight smile. “Alright.”

The walk was terribly short and quiet, and as much as they tried to act calm and collected, the air around them felt heated. There was a considerable distance between the two, hands kept to themselves, all in the name of trying not to do something so rash. But the tension was still there, its pull so magnetic that they watched every step, careful not to move anymore closer towards each other.

Stopping at her door, he abruptly turned to her, looking serious. “About last night, in the kitchen…”

Her breathing hitched as she quickly caught on. “Right…” she breathed out, looking down at her feet as she felt the warmth instantly return to her face. She quietly cursed herself for getting flustered around him, or at the mere thought of him. 

“What we did was wrong.” He kept his gaze on her, conflicted with his own thoughts fighting in his mind. He knew what he was saying, but wasn’t quite sure if he actually meant them. 

She turned her head back up at him, eyes wide in a moment of surprise that she hid as she quickly bit the inside of her cheek. With all the false sense of calmness she could muster up, she nodded. “It...certainly was.”

Without much thought, he held out his hand to her and asked, “consider it forgotten, then?”

Thoughts zipping through her mind, most of them wondering if she _really_ wanted to forget. As embarrassing and harrowing as it was, the events from last night were the most alive she had ever felt in a long time. Remembering was all she could do to relive them.

She sighed before clasping his hand with hers. “So it is.”

They shook hands, trying to ignore the tiny sparks surging through their veins at the touch and warmth of their skin, before pulling away. They shared another moment in awkward silence, unsure if there was anything else to talk about with the night finally coming to a close. 

It didn’t take long until she opened the door behind her, asking him, “is there anything else you want to talk about?” 

He knitted his eyebrows together as he briefly pondered, before smiling and shaking his head. “I’d rather that you rest. I think I’m keeping you up for too long now.”

She couldn’t help but laugh, and he couldn’t help but feel slightly enamored by the sound. “Thank you for the concern,” she giggled, and he was able to catch another sight of her beautiful smile. “Good night, Sam.”

He felt his heart skip a beat, sure that he was going to spend another sleepless night thinking of her. “Good night, Marina.”

**Author's Note:**

> Alright, yay! If you’ve made it this far, thank you for reading! I really had fun writing this, and I hope you enjoyed it!
> 
> If you're interested to see more, I just want to let you know that I plan to release another fic (or two!) around the first week of August!


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